Mirror, Mirror
by ConfusedColumbia26220
Summary: When Emma was a teenager, a friend told her about a mirror game associated with an urban legend. "Mirror, mirror on the wall, bring me the fairest of them all..." The last thing either of them expected was for it to work. And when Emma's foster families begin getting into unexplainable accidents, she begins to wonder if what she had seen was more than just a hallucination. AU!
1. Prologue

She was tied to a tall wooden post, the rope cutting off the circulation of her wrists, which were bound behind her back. The crackling of a torch could be heard, waiting to be dropped atop the timber crushing her feet. There was quite the crowd of villagers awaiting the execution, mere peasants watching with a judgmental eye, as if the moral ground they stood on was so much higher than her own.

The Princess and her faux Prince sat nearby on thrones, adding further insult to injury. "Any last words, 'Your Majesty'?" the faux Prince sneered the moniker sarcastically. There was no respect in the title, only mockery of a traditional formality.

"Yes," she answered somberly. "Yes, I do. I know I'm being judged for my past. A past where I've caused pain, a past where I've inflicted misery, a past where I've… even brought death. When I look back at everything I've done, I want you all to know what I feel. And that is… Regret." It was spoken with sincerity. But she wasn't quite finished. If this was to be her final moment, she didn't want to be remembered as a coward, or worse, a martyr. No, she wanted to go out reminding every single person there how powerful she was, make them fear she would find a way to haunt them after being reduced to ash. Her tone became more dominant, vengeful, "Regret, that I was not able to cause MORE pain. Inflict MORE misery. And bring about MORE death. And above all else, with every ounce of my being, I regret that I was not able to kill… Snow White!" she hissed the name of her long time enemy, the Princess that was now executing her and would take her reign.

"Blindfold!" commanded the Princess in a compassionless tone.

All went black as her command was heeded, as if that would make the woman's fate a surprise, when it was obvious she would be going up in flames in mere moments. Though, she was grateful, for she could no longer take looking at her father's sorrowful eyes. She knew he would trade places with her if he could, and he had tried every bargaining trick imaginable to bring the new royals to reason. Alas, they were having none of it. She felt her jaw quiver the slightest bit and her eyes grow wet with tears. Though she could not yet feel the scalding heat of the flames, she could hear the wood crackling and the smoke was drifting its way up to her nose. She turned her head to one side to evade the scent as her body began its involuntary and useless struggle for survival. She kicked her feet but they could not move, jerked her arms forward only making the rope cut deeper into them, straining forward in a way that arched her back uncomfortably. Her movements became more and more frantic as the sound of the crackling wood grew closer.

A wretched, echoing scream of pain tore from her throat when the flames engulfed her, licking her flesh away until there was nothing left.

 **Hopkins, Minnesota** \- **1998**

Two teenagers sit in a park, having an impromptu picnic. One was blonde, the other an almost raven-haired brunette thanks to her Latina heritage.

"Mm!" the blonde exclaimed in pleasure at the taste of another large bite.

"That sandwich isn't going anywbere, you know," the brunette pointed out playfully.

"Sorry," she apologized after she swallowed. "It's just that where I come from, if you don't eat fast, the big kids would swipe things off your plate."

"Was that around here?"

"Boston. Snuck out in the middle of the night and hopped a bus."

"Why did you leave?" the brunette asked curiously.

"This little girl from my home, Cecilia, got adopted. I watched her get in this station wagon with this perfect-looking couple. That's when I realized... No one was ever gonna look at me the way those parents looked at her. I'm too old. I missed my chance. There was no point in me staying another day if I was just gonna keep feeling…"

"Invisible? I know what it's like to live someplace where it feels like no one cares about you, let alone understands you."

"Were you in a home, too? That guy chasing you... Is he from social services? Is he trying to take you back?"

"Yeah."

"What are you gonna do?"

"See those houses over there?" She gestured in the direction she was speaking of. "People use them in the summer. But now that it's fall, they'll be empty. I figured I'll pick the nicest one and I'll crash there for a while. Here's an idea. Come with me."

"Really?"

"Why not? We'd be better off if we stuck together. Besides, Halloween is coming up, and Halloween is never complete without a good ghost story. I need a ghost story buddy."

The blonde smiled. "You're ridiculous, Lily. But fun."

"So, what are we waiting for, Emma?"

"Gotta finish this sandwich!" She took another huge bite and Lily laughed.


	2. Chapter 1

**Hopkins, Minnesota** \- **1998**

"Wow!" Emma was impressed. "I can't believe they just left a key under the doormat. Can't get any more cliche than that." She looked around, taking in her surroundings. There was a nice TV, probably more expensive than everyone in her life had ever bothered to spend on her altogether. A videogame system, a computer, even a taxidermy buck head mounted on a wall. And that was just what was within her vision, she hadn't seen the kitchen, the bedrooms, bathrooms, or second floor yet. "Honestly surprised no one's robbed this place."

Lily smiled mischievously. "Yet. Our picnic will hold us off for a while, but eventually we'll get hungry again and totally raid the kitchen."

"You are such a snoop!" Emma shook her head with a laugh. Her new friend was an interesting one for sure. Way cooler than any of her foster siblings ever were.

"And you're so innocent?" Lily rose her eyebrows at her pointedly before going off to the kitchen.

"Hey! Don't leave me alone in here!" She jogged after her and ended up jogging right into her.

"Oof!" Lily was temporarily winded. "Would you just relax? I'm looking for a flashlight for our ghost stories." A candle caught her eye. "Or...Or we could chat up some real ghosts!" She grabbed the candle with a grin and spun to face her blonde friend. "We need to search closets and cabinets now, probably upstairs."

"Wha -?" Emma was baffled. "Real gho - huh? Why?" "

Seances are a lot more successful with spirit boards! Come on, now!" Lily grabbed Emma's hand and tugged her along out of the kitchen toward the stairs.

"Woah!" Emma stumbled as she tried to keep up. "Where's the fire?"

"First, you complain about me going off without you, now you're complaining I'm bringing you along?" "

No, just...would you mind slowing down a bit so I don't smash my face on the stairs?"

Lily sighed and slowed down as she began ascending the stairs. "I'm sorry, Em. I'm just excited. I haven't had someone cool around to hang out with for a long time. To be honest, I'm surprised you agreed to come here with me."

"Why?" Emma asked, confused. "I haven't had anyone cool to hang out with either." She followed, her hand still in Lily's.

Lily didn't answer until they had reached the top of the stairs. "Because." She faced her. "I may have an ulterior motive beyond a ghost story buddy."

Emma swallowed. "And what would that be?"

"Well, I-I'm not sure I should say. You might think I'm a freak and never want to see me again."

Emma grew even more concerned at her new friend's sudden self consciousness. "Try me," she encouraged softly, looking into her eyes.

"I...well, I'm fifteen and I've never been kissed, and anyone I've ever liked even the slightest bit would never like me back or be caught dead kissing me."

Emma nodded understandingly and gave her hand a squeeze. "You like girls," she stated without judgment.

Lily's eyes filled with tears, not used to such kindness.

"I do, too," Emma revealed. "I'm nearly fifteen. I'll kiss you, if that's what you're wanting?"

"Really?!" A tear trickled from Lily's eye even though she was smiling widely.

Emma carefully reached out and brushed it away with the pad of her thumb. "Yeah," she murmured softly. "We have no idea how much time we have before something, or more likely someone, separates us. So we should make the most of what time we do have. I don't want to turn eighteen and be inexperienced in everything. This is supposed to be the time for cliche school crushes and dances, but if you're bounced around as often as I am, you're always the new kid no one really knows and you don't get enough time for them to ever know you before you're off to a new place. I can be your ghost buddy and kissing buddy."

Lily nodded. "That's too true. I'd like that."

Emma took a step forward and slowly leaned in. She saw Lily close her eyes and did the same just before their lips touched. It was a chaste kiss, no tongue, not much movement, and it didn't last long. But both girls broke away breathless with wide grins. "Now, let's go find that thing so we can talk to your ghost."

Lily practically skipped along to a hallway closet. Emma smiled and followed, glad she could make her new friend happy and get her first taste of what a kiss is like. Lily dug into a coat pocket and found a lighter. "Em, catch!" She tossed it behind her.

She caught it almost effortlessly. "Nice aim!" She started playing with it, making it spark. "Woah, cool!" She managed a full flame. "Oooh. I don't think whoever owns this place is going to see this lighter ever again. It's awesome!"

Lily sighed in frustration. "I can't reach the top shelf, but I can see the spirit board. Can you reach it?"

"I can try." Emma went into the closet as well and stretched up onto her tiptoes, reaching as high as she could. Her hand landed right on the box. She inched it towards the edge of the shelf until she could fully grab it and bring it down. It was a bit dusty. Both of them coughed as dust flew from the shelf as Emma moved the box.

"Guess no one's usee it for a while," Lily stated.

Emma backed out of the closet with it. "Get out of there and close the door. That dust cloud is annoying, I don't want it to follow us."

Lily coughed and nodded. "Yes, Ma'am." She did as Emma said and headed back to the stairs. This time Emma followed without a word. They went downstairs and back into the living room, sitting across from each other on either side of the coffee table.

Emma put the box on the table. "Hey, didn't you say this was called a spirit board? This says, 'Ouija board'."

Lily waved her off. "It's the same thing."

"Okay, so how does this thing work?" Emma asked, completely out of her element. She had never done anything like this before.

Lily put the candle from the kitchen in the center of the table. "First, light this. You still have the lighter, right?"

"Yep!" Emma removed it from her pocket and held it up for Lily to see.

"So, light it. But be careful not to burn yourself." Emma nodded. She wrapped her free hand around the candle and tilted it forward a bit. She kept flicking the thumb of her other hand along the rolling part of the lighter, sparking until she got a flame, which she carefully touched to the wick before setting the candle flat against the table again. She let the lighter's flame go out.

Lily smiled. "Good! Now, let's get the board out." She opened the box and removed the board, which she laid flat on the table, a good bit away from the candle, letters facing Emma. She put the pointer towards the bottom center pointing in her own direction. "If we make a connection, the ghost, spirit, whatever, is supposed to use this to communicate with us. If we ask a yes or no question, it will move the pointer to those words on the board. If the question requires a more specific answer, it will use the letters and/or numbers to spell it out to us."

Emma scoffed. "Seriously?"

"Yeah! That's how it's supposed to work. I'm not saying it will for sure, but if it does, that's how it happens."

"Alright, I'll play. How do we get it to talk to us?"

Lily moved the empty box and its lid onto the floor. "Put your hands out on either side of the candle, but not on the table because then you'll be touching the board."

Emma did as Lily instructed, holding her arms above the table on either side of the candle. "Now what?"

"Now, I take your hands," Lily answered, making the action as she spoke it. Emma smiled, not bothered by that part at all. "Close your eyes," Lily directed softly as she did so herself. Emma obeyed. "On the count of three, say this with me, 'Spirit on the other side, if you are here, we request you commune with us.'" Emma listened to each word carefully, trying to memorize it. "Ready?" Lily asked.

"Yes," Emma answered with a nod, even though Lily couldn't see it.

"One...two...three!"

"Spirit on the other side, if you are here, we request you commune with us."

"Spirit on the other side, if you are here, we request you commune with us."

They spoke in unison. They waited a few seconds, but nothing happened.

"Again," Lily stated. "Spirit on the other side, if you are here, we request you commune with us."

"Spirit on the other side, if you are here, we request you commune with us." Unison again. Nothing again.

"Again. Chant this time. Spirit on the other side, if you are here, we request you commune with us. Spirit on the other side, if you are here, we request you commune with us. Spirit on the other side, if you are here, we request you commune with us..."

"Spirit on the other side, if you are here, we request you commune with us. Spirit on the other side, if you are here, we request you commune with us. Spirit on the other side, if you are here, we request you commune with us..."

Minutes passed, and still nothing was happening. Lily sighed and opened her eyes. "Okay, stop. Apparently there are no spirits here."

Emma opened her eyes in time to see Lily blowing out the candle. The pointer never moved.

"Well, that was a bit anti-climactic," Lily stated as she began packing the ouija board away.

"What kind of questions would we even ask a ghost?" Emma asked.

"Who they are, how they died, how old they were, how long ago it was, if God exists, if they can see the future. Other random things."

"I see. Well, I'm getting hungry again, so let's raid the kichen, and then you can tell me some of those ghost stories."

Lily smiled. "Sounds like a plan."


	3. Chapter 2

**Hopkins, Minnesota** \- **1998**

The girls were back in the living room once they'd had their fill of mostly junk food that they may never have been allowed to have otherwise. Lily had her flashlight on trying to make it cast an eerie shadow across her face. "Are you ready?"

"Yup," Emma answered with a decisive smack of her lips.

"I'll bet you didn't know Snow White was based off a true story."

"Really?" Emma was intrigued as to where the story would be going if this was how it started.

"Oh, yeah. Except Disney changed a lot so the term is used very loosely."

"So, what happened?"

"Well, the Evil Queen first met Snow White by saving her life."

Emma arched an eyebrow. "That's not very evil."

"She wasn't the Evil Queen yet. In fact, she was quite kind. She was happily in a relationship and rode horses. She saved Snow White from an out of control horse that might have caused her to fall and be trampled to death."

Emma nodded, giving the story her full attention.

"Snow was a young girl, about 10. The woman later to be known as the Evil Queen wasn't much older than us, but being unmarried pushing twenty was a social no no in that time, especially among royal circles. Her mother wanted her to marry into higher status and didn't know about her relationship, which happened to be with a man of lower status. Conveniently, Snow was a Princess with a widowed King for a father, who just so happened to be in search of his next bride and Snow's next mother. Snow was so taken with the woman and so grateful that she told her father all about the good deed she had done. The very next day the King showed up at their living quarters, and her mother eagerly allowed him entry. He said he wanted to meet this brave young woman, so she brought her to him. Without so much as a hello, he dropped to his knee and proposed with a ring he had probably been carrying for a while during his search. The woman was frozen, stunned and speechless, so her mother took it upon herself to accept the proposal for her."

"What a fucking bitch," Emma couldn't help but comment.

Lily snorted. "Emma! Interrupting ruins the flow of the story."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. That just makes me mad. I know things used to happen like that even just a century ago, but it's just so...wrong."

"Anyway…" Lily drawled. "As soon as the woman got a chance, she ran off to tell her boyfriend about the new forced engagement in tears. He asked what she was going to do and tried to comfort her. After she calmed down she got an idea. You can't marry someone who was already married, and she told him she wouldn't have to marry the King if they eloped, which he more than happily agreed to. But -"

"Of course there's a but!"

Lily laughed. "Emma, this isn't a soap opera on TV. Are you going to let me finish without interrupting or not?"

Emma sighed. "Okay, okay." She made the motion of zipping her lips shut and nodded for Lily to continue.

"But," Lily repeated. "Young Snow caught them kissing. When the woman saw that the girl had seen them, she tried to explain the situation to her. That she didn't want to marry the King because she was already in love, that she wasn't lying to anyone because she wasn't the one to accept the proposal. Snow understood and told her she was sure her father would understand. But the woman protested, begged her not to tell anyone, and above all else, to never speak a word of it to her mother. She asked if Snow could keep her secret and Snow promised she would."

Emma sensed another 'but' coming, though she kept her mouth shut this time.

"It didn't take long for her to break that promise. She spilled the beans to the woman's mother, thinking she might understand after all. And the mother pretended to. She knew just where to find her daughter and the man she intended to elope, and she was just in time. They had a few belongings with them that they intended to bring when they ran off together. The woman was shocked and immediately felt the sting of betrayal when she saw her mother. She told her she couldn't stop them. Her mother said she wasn't trying to but had a few things to say to the man who was to be her son-in-law. She casually separated them, putting distance between the two. She began giving the man advice for when he was a father, telling him he would always have to do what was best for his children. Like she was doing right then. And that was just before she tore his heart straight out of his chest with her bare hands!"

"WOAH!" Emma shuddered. "Okay, what the actual fuck?!" She rubbed her hand over her own chest above where her heart resided, trying to imagine what it would feel like to have it torn out. "Jesus Christ, were her fingers made of steak knives?!"

"Do you want me to stop?" Lily asked, not wanting to terrorize her too badly.

Emma shook her head. "No - No, I have to hear the rest now. Just...damn."

"Alright. Well, her fingers aren't steak knives, but she had magic. All those Salem Witch Trials we've heard about were just a bunch of idiots going after the wrong people, most of them just had mental illnesses or weren't simply obedient little slaves like society wanted them to be. Those weren't witches. But that doesn't mean that they never existed."

"I can believe that. If people are supposed to believe in God, some supreme magical being that can do anything at any time and affect anyone He wants in doing so...why not witches?" Emma shrugged. Maybe they were like dinosaurs, the dominant ones of the world before dying out. "Even if they might not exist anymore."

"Okay, so…" Lily had to gather her thoughts and remember her place. "She ripped out his heart, killing him right in front of her daughter. She may as well have ripped her heart out too, for in that moment it had broken beyond repair. She was hardly given the chance to mourn. Her mother was telling her to dry her eyes, stop her sniveling, that love was weakness and she had a wedding to prepare for. As she was being fitted for the dress, Snow watched. As soon as they had a moment alone, the woman took the opportunity to ask her if she had told her mother. Snow told her that she had, but only because she didn't want her to lose her mother. The woman pretended to forgive her but was plotting all kinds of ways to make her meet her demise. Of course, she had to go through the wedding first and play supportive wife and mommy. She grew to hate her more and more each day of the marriage, and she hated being treated like a wallflower. But she allowed the girl to grow attached, if only because it would make her even more pained when revenge was finally served. She watched her grow up and waited until she was the age she herself had been when the man she loved had been taken from her. Waited to take away from Snow an equally important man, her father, the King. It made her a widow and the ruler of the kingdom. She had to pretend to be sad with her, of course. She even laid by his corpse all night long so she could scream at the 'discovery' of his death in the morning. Act the part of the mourning widow. She was convincing because she thought of her true lost love whenever she needed tears. Throughout the funeral she portrayed grief that was genuine, just not for the newly deceased. She pretended to be Snow's support system, but as early as the next day had hired a huntsman to take her into the woods and carve her heart out. A solid plan, only the huntsman felt pity for Snow and let her escape. This tipped her off to the Queen's true intentions and she hid in the forest, becoming a bandit to survive. When the Queen realized the huntsman had failed her, she made sure wanted posters with Snow's face on it were plastered all over her kingdom and surrounding kingdoms. A war of cat and mouse began between them, the Queen being labeled as the Evil Queen as Snow told her story to anyone she met. Snow eventually met a man and fell in love with him. They had a big wedding, and the Queen, now Evil Queen, couldn't resist attending. She told them her gift to them was this happy, happy day, but then she was going to destroy their happiness and that of the entire kingdom. If it was the last thing she did. The Prince threw his sword at her but she disappeared in a swirl of smoke."

Emma let out a low whistle. "Girl, do you ever stop to breathe?"

"I'm breathing just fine. We're more than halfway into the story. Maybe three quarters."

Emma's eyes widened. "Oh, is that all?"

"You can't rush true stories, Em."

"Well, continue. By all means."

"Alright. Snow and her Prince came up with a plan to stop the Evil Queen once and for all. They used Snow as bait and enlisted the help of a fairy -"

"Fairies, too?"

"Yes. So, Snow was running through the forest in an area they knew the Evil Queen would be watching. Snow pretended to trip over a rock and soon the Evil Queen emerged on horseback. She asked Snow if she was leaving the battle so soon. Snow told her the battle was over, that their army was too great, she couldn't win. To which the Evil Queen told her that depended on her definition of victory. Snow offered a parley, to negotiate the terms of the Evil Queen's surrender. The Evil Queen said her terms were quite simple, Snow's death. She prepared to attack but the Prince and the fairy had arrived, and the fairy immobilized her with magic. The Evil Queen realized it was a trap. Snow told her she should have surrendered when she gave her the chance. The Prince told her they knew she wouldn't be able to resist going after Snow, and that because of her bloodlust, the kingdom was theirs. Her reign of evil was over."

"Hm." Emma thought that was a little depressing.

"It's not done just yet. The Evil Queen was taken to a holding cell while Snow and her Prince prepared her execution. She was visited by her father, who felt he had failed her. He asked her forgiveness. She told him there was no need for it, that she couldn't blame who she loved most, the only person to stand by her until the end. He said it didn't have to be the end. To that she replied Snow and her Prince were rather determined to make it so. He begged her to repent, to show regret for her misdeeds. That if she showed them she could change, they would spare her. If she would only give them a reason. But it was of no use, he had to watch her burn at the stake mere hours later anyway."

"Poor guy," Emma whispered. "So...you're telling me all that really happened?"

Lily nodded. "Supposedly."

"Wow."

"Yeah. There's an urban legend attached, too. Because the Evil Queen never got to avenge her loved one's death before she died, she's trapped halfway between this life and the afterlife. They say if you go into a bathroom, shut the door, turn out the lights, close your eyes, and recite the chant, 'Mirror, mirror on the wall, bring me the fairest of them all, Vengeful Queen, make yourself seen, once burnt at the stake you now shall wake' three times, she will appear in the mirror surrounded by the flames that caused her death. You'll catch a glimpse of her if you open your eyes as soon as you finish the third time, but you have to be quick, because if you don't turn the light back on once she appears, she will reach out through the mirror and tear your heart out the same way her beloved's heart was torn out."

"So, when are you going to try that?" Emma asked with a cheeky grin.

"Uh, like right now." Lily switched off the flashlight and jumped up off of the couch.

Emma got up as well. "If I stand by the door when you do it will I hear the sound of the flames crackling in the mirror?"

Lily shrugged. "Guess we'll see."


	4. Chapter 3

Lily and Emma made their way up to the bathroom on the second floor. Emma stood beside the doorway, partially leaning against the wall next to it.

"Let me know if I need to rescue you," Emma teased.

"Oh, shut up!" Lily rolled her eyes. She stepped into the bathroom and shut the door. She turned the lights off and closed her eyes.

Emma could hear her from where she stood on the outside, "Mirror, mirror on the wall, bring me the fairest of them all, Vengeful Queen, make yourself seen, once burnt at the stake you now shall wake." A short pause. "Mirror, mirror on the wall, bring me the fairest of them all, Vengeful Queen, make yourself seen, once burnt at the stake you now shall wake." A longer pause.

Emma heard the light flip on and soon Lily was stepping out of the bathroom. "Chicken!" she taunted with a smirk. "You didn't even finish it."

"Yeah, well, so what?"

Emma shook her head. "Okay, my turn. But let's make it fun. If I only say it once before chickening out, I have to take my shirt off for the rest of the night. If I say it all three times, you have to do something, too."

"Okay, if you say it all three times, I'll take off my shirt and my pants for the rest of the night."

"And if I say it twice, we both have to do the same thing."

"Shirts and bras off?" Lily suggested.

"Well, now this is a win-win-win situation." Emma smirked. That could certainly get interesting. "Let's see which it'll be." She stepped into the bathroom, shut off the lights, and closed the door. She took in a breath and closed her eyes, determined not to be chicken.

"Should we add something for you not saying anything at all?" Lily teased through the door.

Emma shook her head and started, "Mirror, mirror on the wall, bring me the fairest of them all, Vengeful Queen, make yourself seen, once burnt at the stake you now shall wake. Mirror, mirror on the wall, bring me the fairest of them all, Vengeful Queen, make yourself seen, once burnt at the stake you now shall wake. Mirror, mirror on the wall, bring me the fairest of them all, Vengeful Queen, make yourself seen, once burnt at the stake you now shall wake."

A few seconds later, Emma left the bathroom.

"Guess I better start stripping," Lily stated. She began pulling off her shirt. "So, I gather your heart's still in your chest." She unbuttoned her pants. "Did you see anything?"

Emma shook her head. "Nope, not a thing."

"Oh, well. It wasn't as if anything was going to happen anyway." Lily stated with a shrug before peeling her jeans down her legs and stepping out of them.

"Right," Emma agreed with a smile.

Lily offered her hand. "Want to make out in a bedroom?"

Emma took her hand. "Yeah, let's do that." She let Lily lead her away.

Emma's mind was still in the bathroom, though. She'd lied when she said she hadn't seen anything. After she'd opened her eyes, she did see a woman looking back at her in the mirror, surrounded by flames. She had looked pissed, perhaps even murderous, but was also very beautiful. She had hair that was the same kind of dark as Lily's, though much longer. She wore it in a regal bun, secured with a tiara. Her lips were a deep, seductive red, and her eyes a rich brown. Emma had flipped the light on quickly and she had disappeared, but lingered in her mind's eye. She was stunned about the whole thing.

 _"Mirror, mirror on the wall, bring me the fairest of them all, Vengeful Queen, make yourself seen, once burnt at the stake you now shall wake."_

 _Her ears became alert at the familiar phrase, her eyes snapping open. She stepped closer to the veil, looking at the dark haired girl. She rose a hand against the veil. "Come on, girl."_

 _"Mirror, mirror on the wall, bring me the fairest of them all, Vengeful Queen, make yourself seen, once burnt at the stake you now shall wake."_

 _"Finish it!" she hissed, curling her fingers in preparation. The girl disappeared._

 _"Argh!" she growled in frustration and hissed in pain as the veil burnt her, making her take a step back. She watched as her hand crumbled away to ash before reforming anew. She turned away from the veil and glared at the door she couldn't go through no matter how many times and how many different ways she had tried. It was mocking her. Her Daniel was on the other side of that door, she knew, and she couldn't get to him._

 _"Mirror, mirror on the wall, bring me the fairest of them all, Vengeful Queen, make yourself seen, once burnt at the stake you now shall wake."_

 _She whirled around to face the veil again, this time seeing a blonde. "Please," she didn't like how that sounded like a whimper._

 _"Mirror, mirror on the wall, bring me the fairest of them all, Vengeful Queen, make yourself seen, once burnt at the stake you now shall wake."_

 _She dared put her hand on the veil again._

 _"Mirror, mirror on the wall -"_

 _"Yes!" She turned to look at the door, only to see it disappear. "What?!" she growled. She whirled back to the veil._

 _"- bring me the fairest of them all, Vengeful Queen, make yourself seen, once burnt at the stake you now shall wake."_

 _The veil dropped. She could reach out and touch the blonde girl if she wanted._

 _"Thank you." But the girl already disappeared. She curiously took a step forward, and found herself in the same place the girl had just been. She saw a door close and heard voices:_

 _"Guess I better start stripping. So, I gather your heart's still in your chest. Did you see anything?"_

 _"Nope, not a thing."_

 _"Oh, well. It wasn't as if anything was going to happen anyway."_

 _"Right."_

 _"Want to make out in a bedroom?"_

 _"Yeah, let's do that."_

 _She recognized the dark and blonde haired girls' voices. She heard them walking away and stepped closer to the door. She reached out for the doorknob but found her hand passed right through it. She took a step forward and went right through the door. She saw the girls holding hands, one wearing very little clothing, walking into a bedroom. She followed and saw a mirror in the room, and felt herself being pulled toward it. It sucked her in, but she wasn't trapped the same way she was before. She could see what was happening in the room from the point of view of the mirror._

 _"I'm free!" But invisible. And, apparently, mute. And with no Daniel, which pissed her off beyond belief. But that blonde was intriguing, especially because - oh, and now they were kissing on the bed. "That's different." She wondered what she could do with her new freedom. She stepped out of the mirror and approached the bed. She placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder and the girl shuddered._

 _"Lily, is there a window open in here?" the blonde looked around._

 _"No. Why, are you cold?"_

 _She took her hand off the girl's shoulder._

 _"I...I guess I just had a chill. I'm fine now."_

 _She scoffed. She could walk through doors and make people cold. "That's not good enough!"_

 _She went back into the mirror. She needed to be able to do more._


	5. Chapter 4

_She needed to expand her abilities. She couldn't exist as a mere ghost when she had once been one of the most powerful sorceresses of all time. She focused on a lamp on a nightstand from her mirror view. She tried to shatter it, but nothing happened. She stepped out of the mirror and tried again, getting the same result. She growled and felt a fireball briefly spark in her hand before fizzling out._

 _There was an idea. She looked down at her hand and back to the lamp, focusing on conjuring a fireball in her hand. She was pleasantly surprised when she was able to conjure one that didn't fizzle out. She threw it toward the lamp, and was ultimately dismayed when it did absolutely nothing to it. It left no marks, the lamp was perfectly in tact._

 _"Ugh!" Was her magic like the rest of her body, passing right through whatever object it touched? She couldn't stand being so pathetic. She approached the bed where the girls were sleeping. She pressed her hand down on the foot of the bed, watching for any sort of indent or movement, but there was nothing. She added her other hand and pushed harder, only to lose balance and fall right through it, going right through the girls in the process. At least she actually landed on the floor beneath the bed and didn't keep falling, that had to count for something._

Lily jolted awake and looked at Emma. "Emma!"

Emma stirred and cracked an eye open. "Yeah?"

"I just felt something really cold, like a burst of wind. Did you?"

"Maybe there's a window open downstairs and it's coming up here? You are only wearing a bra and underwear, after all." Emma suggested, although she had to admit it would be a weird coincidence.

 _"Emma." So, that was the blonde's name. It suited her._

"Yeah?" Emma looked at Lily.

Lily gave her an odd look. "I...hadn't said anything else…?"

 _Had she heard? She managed to crawl out from beneath the bed, looking at her curiously._

"Hm. Must be hearing things, then." Emma shrugged it off.

"Must be," Lily concluded.

The sound of something breaking downstairs could be heard, causing both girls to bolt into sitting positions.

 _Even she jumped, and she was the god damn ghost. She left the bedroom, right through the door, of course, and headed for the stairs. Her foot wouldn't solidly touch a stair, but she found she could just float her way down them. She looked around, investigating the source of the noise. She saw a broken window and a man began climbing through it. On instinct, she made her way to them. She grabbed the man's head, sharply twisted it to snap his neck, and managed to twist it right off. Once severed, it slipped right through her hands and landed on the floor with a thud as if she had never held it in the first place._

 _Her jaw dropped in amazement, having no clue how she'd just accomplished that. She noticed the man hadn't been too smart, for a shard of the window remained and was currently embedded in his stomach, making him bleed. The blood pooled onto the window pane and trickled down the wall onto the floor._

Lily had thrown her clothes back on and told Emma to stay in the bedroom. She grabbed something for a weapon, which happened to be a hand held vacuum cleaner. She made her way down the stairs, and was soon screaming at the top of her lungs, dropping the vacuum cleaner at her feet. She saw the man halfway through the broken window, his blood spilling everywhere, but the most terrifying part was that his head was a foot away from his body, and she could see that his eyes has rolled into the back of his head.

"Lily?!" Emma ran after her friend, fearing for her life. She stumbled her way down the stairs and nearly fell on her ass when she saw what had made Lily scream. "What the fuck?!" she shrilled, clapping her hands over her mouth.

Lily started crying. "W-We-We should pr-probably call the cops and leave…"

"Call the cops?!" Emma grabbed her shoulders, spinning her to face her. "If we call the cops, we'll be thrown right back into foster care and be separated! Is that what you want?"

"No!" Lily sobbed. "No, of course not! B-B-But we ca-can't stay here with...with that!" She wildly flung her arm in a gesture toward the body.

"I know, I know." Emma pulled Lily into her arms and held her as she tried to think.

 _Her eyes widened, looking between the bodies and the horrified girls. She hadn't exactly intended to cause fear, for once. She had just been focused on getting rid of the intruder somehow, without a plan. She certainly didn't know she could snap limbs when she couldn't even make a dip in a bed. She scanned her memory frantically for some way to fix this. She remembered dream catchers could remove memories. Or… She approached the girls and shoved a hand into each of their chests, gripping onto their hearts and ripping them out. She held them and spoke to them, "Leave this place and go somewhere safe. Forget you saw anything. As far as you know, you never slept here." She shoved them back into their chests and followed as they catatonically left the house, hand in hand._

Emma and Lily found themselves at the door of a church, being taken into asylum for the night.

 _She stopped at the doors of the familiar looking building, unsure she would be allowed inside. Would she burn the moment she stepped foot inside? She went right through them and got her answer. No, no she did not burst into flames upon entry. She followed the girls to the dormitory they were led to, Emma in particular. She was the more interesting of the two, and she felt she owed her some loyalty. Emma had been the one to release her from her prison, after all. The one who might have heard her._

 _She waited until Emma was lying down in her cot to try again. "Emma."_

 _The girl looked right at her as if she could see her, but her eyes weren't focused on anything. She knelt down beside the cot and brought her lips close to the girl's ear. "Have sweet dreams."_

Emma turned onto her side, pulling the blanket tighter around herself. A tear trickled from her eye as it often did when she had yet another night in an unfamiliar place. "I wish someone would stay," she whispered to herself. Lily was nice, but she knew they'd be split apart eventually. "Just once."

 _She wondered where this girl's parents were. "Be careful what you wish for." She clearly wasn't the greatest company, but they were probably connected since Emma had been the one to release her. Which may be why she had fixated on her. "You just might get it."_


	6. Chapter 5

**October 28, 1998**

"Something wrong, Emma?" Lily asked. Her friend seemed to be having a staring contest with the milk in her cereal bowl.

Emma sighed. "It's just that today's my birthday. Another year since my parents abandoned me, another year without being adopted." She stirred the spoon aimlessly in circles.

"Well, at least you aren't entirely alone this time." Lily wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

Emma looked over to her. "Yeah, but we can't keep running forever. People will figure it out and call CPS and we'll be separated. They don't even try to keep siblings together anymore, and we look nothing alike."

"Well, we're together today. We've still got most of that hundred dollars we found, too, so food won't be a problem for a while."

Emma picked the bowl up and drank the rest of the milk. "And what about somewhere to sleep? I don't want to spend the night in a church or women's shelter again. Why didn't we just stay at that house with the endless kitchen and the awesome TV?"

"Because whoever the owners are could have come back and caught us, and we could've been in a worse place than church or a shelter. We could've been sent to juvie."

"Yeah, I know, but at least we wouldn't have to worry about where to sleep every night." She put the bowl back down on the table.

"Ready to go?"

Emma nodded. "Yeah, sure."

They got up from the table and left five bucks behind to pay for what had been eaten. They left the restaurant hand in hand.

"We could sneak into one of those mattress stores and sleep on a bed that can't be seen from a window. We'd just have to leave before it opens in the morning," Lily suggested.

 _She had discovered something new she could do. Instead of just making people feel cold as she passed through them or vice versa, she could temporarily take control of them. It was less messy and obvious than speaking commands into a heart. The first time it happened was at the church when a nun had came to check on Emma. She had knelt by Emma's side, presumably to pray for her, right in the very spot she had been kneeling. She had stood and the nun had rose with her. She moved a hand and so did the nun. She had knelt back down and looked for a reflective surface, which, upon seeing, drew her out of the nun's body. The nun seemed none the wiser and continued what she had set out to do._

 _Now, she had intentionally inhabited someone, and had access to all their thoughts and memories. If this was what she had to do to be corporeal, so be it._

"Excuse me, young ladies."

Emma and Lily halted at the sight of a tall redhead presumably speaking to them. She could have been a model, but the powersuit she was wearing was more suited to a business woman.

"Uh-er-" They stuttered.

"Us?" Emma managed to ask.

"Yes. I couldn't help but overhear you two are in need of a place to sleep tonight?"

Lily's eyes went wide and she looked at Emma. "Uh, no, Miss…" she had no idea what to say.

The woman was pulling something out of her purse, a card. "Try a hotel," she told them.

Emma's jaw dropped. "We...We can't take your card."

"Sure you can. I have plenty more. It's debit, so you needn't worry. I'm rich." She winked at them.

Lily didn't hesitate in snatching the card from her hand. "Wow! Thanks, Miss!" she grinned like a kid on Christmas.

"Happy birthday," the redhead said to Emma before starting to walk past them.

"Wait!" Emma called after her. "How did you know it's my birthday?" But the woman kept on walking as if she hadn't heard her.

"Can you believe that just happened?!" Lily was still squealing over the card.

Emma's mouth was hanging open a bit. "How the hell did she know it's my birthday?"

"Oh, it's probably just a coincidence. Like how people say 'Merry Christmas' when it's not Christmas but they've just given you an awesome gift. Maybe her version is saying happy birthday. Don't question it, Em! We can do pretty much anything or go anywhere we want now!"

Emma blinked a couple times. "Yeah. Yeah, I suppose we can!"

 _She followed them, wondering if the happy birthday had been too much. But at the same time, didn't she want to be noticed by Emma? Now that she knew there were no parents in the picture, well, someone had to protect her, somehow._

Emma jumped when she saw someone in the reflection of a store window as they walked by. It looked just like the Evil Queen from the mirror, except she saw more than just the face this time. And it looked like she was right behind her. She whirled around.

"Emma, what's wrong?" Lily asked, confused at her sudden change in behavior.

Nothing was there. Nothing but empty air. Emma looked at the store window again but the reflection was gone. "No-Nothing. I thought someone was following us for a second, but no one's there." She turned to face the direction they were going.

"You're not usually this jumpy," Lily teased.

"I don't usually feel like I'm being stalked, either."

Lily chuckled. "No more ghost stories for you."

"It's not -" Emma sighed. "Whatever." She shook her head.

 _"You saw me?"_

Emma whirled around again. "What the hell?" she whispered.

Lily looked at Emma, concerned.

Emma looked at Lily. "You didn't hear that?!"

"Hear what?" Emma turned back the proper direction. "Nothing, never mind. I'm being paranoid."

"Let's go hop on a bus and go to a mall, okay? I think we could both use a good shopping spree."

Emma nodded and pressed a kiss to Lily's lips, holding onto her tight. A tear trickled from her eye. She hoped she wasn't going crazy.

 _She frowned, knowing she'd been heard and that Emma was trying to ignore it. She decided to follow in silence and wait until Emma was alone before trying to communicate again, at least as herself. Terrorizing her (again) was not what she was trying to accomplish. Certainly not on the girl's birthday, of all days._


End file.
